


Given The Chance

by Im_The_Doctor (Bofur1)



Category: Video Blogging RPF, Youtube RPF
Genre: Apologies, Banter, Crack and Angst, Defensiveness, Drunken Shenanigans, Drunkenness, Eventual Happy Ending, Explanations, Fluff and Humor, Guilt, Help, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection, Kindness, Light Angst, Magic, Magical Accidents, Making Up, Mid-Canon, Multiple Selves, Platonic Cuddling, Public Display of Affection, Self-Esteem Issues, Side Effects, Spells & Enchantments, Surprises, Teaching, Tenderness, Vulnerability, antics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 17:06:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15490617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bofur1/pseuds/Im_The_Doctor
Summary: When a blast of Marvin’s magic goes awry, he ends up spending the night watching over a thoroughly plastered Jack. Much to his surprise, it creates an unlikely opportunity for them to address something that’s been hanging between them.





	Given The Chance

“Okay…who wants to be the one to tell Signe?”

Jackieboy uncharacteristically shrank back at Chase’s words, his arm tightening around the shoulders of his creator. Looking up from the pill bottles he was arranging on the side table next to the couch, Schneep cast a nervous glance among the group, trying in vain to force a weak smile. Jameson was already shaking his head quite violently, instinctively straightening his hat as soon as he stopped. Groaning, Marvin leaned forward, burying his face in his hands as it turned as red as Jackieboy’s jumpsuit.

“It was an accident!” he whined helplessly, causing Jack to giggle as he threw himself upright, swaying too far back and forcing Jackieboy to steady him.

“S’—S’okay, Marvin!” he slurred, hanging on Jackie with one arm as he reached the other out to pat the magician’s shoulder, missing by a long shot. “S’not like I haven’t been drunk before! Although…this is th’ first time I’ve been  _magically_  drunk! Jus’ feels really th’ same!”

“Alright, just sit him down here, Jackie,” Schneep instructed, stepping away from the couch and narrowly dodging one of Jack’s swinging arms as he tugged against the older Ego’s grip.

“I feel th’ sa-a-a-ame!” he repeated emphatically, barely managing to keep his feet underneath him for the few yards they had to cross to the couch. Once he was down, he clumsily curled his legs up underneath him, leaning his head back so he could look them all with glossy, overbright eyes. “You…I was gonna tell you a s-story! But I think since you have a lot of my memories, you’d already know! My grandpappi, d’you know about him?”

“I think you’ve mentioned him before,” Chase admitted, biting his lip in a failing attempt to hide a grin as he fished his phone out of his pocket, surreptitiously hitting ‘record’. “Dead before you were born?”

“Wha—?” Brows furrowing in a strange cross between indignation and disbelief, Jack used his elbows to push his weight off the couch cushion behind him, trying to reach full height without needing to stand. “How d’you know?!”

 **“Chase Brody!”**  Jameson scolded, swatting at his arm and earning a laugh in return.  **“That’s tremendously impolite! Our creator’s not in his right mind!”**

“He’s gotten drunk on camera before!” Chase pointed out cheerfully. “Besides, I don’t plan on showing it to anyone, so I’m not gonna humiliate him; it’s just something to cheer me up if I ever need it! It’s like a personalized Try Not to Laugh video!”

 **“I can see you’re already losing,”**  Jameson huffed, peeking over at Jack with apprehension and sympathy.

“Th’ more I fail, th’ bigger fool I make of myself, th’ better  _you_  feel!” Jack exclaimed, scrunching his eyes closed as he sang boisterously, ignoring how his voice cracked. “ _What is my life?! Ohhh!_ ”

“Okay, Jack, my friend,” Schneep cut in kindly, crouching and taking ahold of Jack’s shoulders so he could guide him back down. “Listen to your good doctor, alright? Is not exactly in your nature to sit still for long, especially not like this, but you need to rest right now. You’ve had a nip and sip too much—”

“I didn’t nip on anything!” Jack hollered, craning his neck to pinpoint Marvin somewhere over Schneep’s head as he continued, all too enthusiastic to rat him out. “He hit me with th’  _juicy juice!_  I didn’t take anything, I swear!”

Glowering defensively as Schneep cast him another accusatory look, Marvin shifted his weight agitatedly back and forth, blurting out, “I was just trying to make the Jack and coke stronger for dinner tonight! How was I supposed to know he’d get in the way?! It’s not like I was  _aiming_  for him!”

“Well, how long do you think this is going to last?” Jackieboy questioned, planting his hands on his hips skeptically.

“It’s hard to tell. Since my spell was meant to make the alcohol stronger for the night, it’ll probably stick around…” Pausing, Marvin tilted his head back, making calculations and estimates on how fast Jack’s digestive system worked. “Geez. Somewhere around twelve hours? At least through the night. Maybe he can sleep through most of it.”

“Pffff,” Jack scoffed, waving a haphazard hand dismissively. “Everybody knows I don’t  _sleep!_  What’re you talkin’ about?”

“In which case I make sure you are not alone tonight,” Schneep sighed, prying off his glasses to wipe off the mist of spit they’d just received. “I did not plan on any winks either, much less forty.”

“No,” Marvin spoke up hurriedly, a twinge of worry and guilt poking him in the chest. “No, Schneep, you go back to work tomorrow. You need the rest. I got Jack into this mess, I’d better be the one to wait it out with him.”

It wasn’t as if he wanted to. He went to bed the earliest out of all of them and frankly he thought Jack, Schneep, and Jackieboy were completely insane for staying up as late as they did, but if he didn’t take responsibility for this and just pawned the cleanup off on the others, he was certain it would gnaw at him for weeks to come. The gratitude and relief on Schneep’s face more than made up his mind.

“Alright, then, let me show you how to take pulse and check vision for the little pupil contractions,” he offered, gesturing for Marvin to join him.

The little medical class took longer than it probably should have. Jackieboy couldn’t oversee for as long as he’d hoped; he had to take a call from the police station about one of his recent arrests. As he left, he reluctantly promised to give Signe some kind of excuse for Jack staying with them for the night. It wasn’t likely she’d mind, but who knew? Chase, meanwhile, was soon frustrated and bored since Marvin and Schneep’s backs were blocking his view and as soon as he gave up and headed out, Jameson hurried after him.

If he’d had a clear view, Chase certainly would have gotten some good entertainment; Jack squirmed and protested and chattered the entire time, no matter how many times Schneep cupped his flushed face and asked him very nicely to stay quiet. It was like asking a cloud not to stay in the sky; he essentially gave up asking when Jack childishly reached up and grabbed his face in return, creating a rather impressive collection of smears and smudges on the lenses Schneep had just cleaned.

“Okay, okay, I’ve got it from here,” Marvin assured him as he hissed in exasperation, untangling Jack’s clumsy fingers from his hair and ears.

“I certainly hope so!” the doctor huffed. “Just wake him up every so often to make sure he’s still responsive and don’t let him use the bathroom on his own. I have stacks of files to sort; I’ll come back in a little while.”

Despite the fact that he nodded his agreement, Marvin was more than aware that as soon as Schneep sat down and become engrossed in his work, it would probably be at least three hours before he came out again. He just had to keep Jack comfortable until then.

That didn’t seem like it was going to be too hard, so long as he stayed on the couch beside him and let him talk. Every so often he would stop mid-sentence, trailing off and staring into the distance, eyes narrowing in concentration as he tried to recover his train of thought, and then his brain would buffer and he’d start right back up on a completely new subject. Marvin paid as much attention as he could, simply smiling and nodding when Jack spoke too fast for him to understand.

At long last, his creator quieted somewhat, pulling his knees out from under him and resting his head against them. “Marv…Why did I call you  _Marv?_ ” he questioned rhetorically, glazed eyes sweeping over his creation. “Why didn’t I call you…I dunno, Matt? Or Mark? Those’re just as good names.”

A bit taken aback, Marvin glanced away for a few moments. He and Jack had never talked about this; it was something of a sore spot for him, something he did his best to avoid acknowledging in everyday conversation, but now Jack was prodding at his leg, repeating his question and putting him on the spot.

“Those don’t roll off the tongue as well. It was what a lot of the community called me,” he reminded him coolly.  

“They’re…amazing,” Jack mused. “Y’know, I created you and all, but they’re th’ ones who really  _adopted_  you. I mean, if-f we’re being level, we  _both_  know I never really meant to make you an Ego—”

“Yeah, I know that, Jack. I’m  _very_  well aware!” Marvin regretted the sudden snap in his tone as soon as it was out of his mouth, but Jack didn’t seem too offended or even surprised by it. He simply blinked, his eyes lingering over his face, his mask as his hand crept to grip the leg he’d been poking; it was the nearest part of him he could reach.

“I—I’m sorry,” he ventured, gnawing on his lower lip for a few moments before sliding his grip down to his ankle and squeezing more tightly, his hand overly warm through the leg of Marvin’s jeans. “’m sorry for not namin’ you sooner…actually givin’ you a chance.”

Marvin opened his mouth, but no sound left it. What could he say to that? Jack wasn’t in his right mind at the moment. Did he really mean that apology? Was he really aware of Marvin’s resentment when he was sober or was he just taking a wild guess, apologizing because his Ego had just snapped at him?

In the end he spent too long trying to think of a response; Jack was already releasing his ankle and squirming to sandwich against his side instead, lazily slinging an arm around his neck and pulling him in for a side hug. It was a little awkward, given that their heads bumped together and knocked Marvin’s mask askew, but he didn’t dare to move so he could adjust it.

When was the last time his creator had shown affection to him and none of the others? the magician wondered in amazement, keeping his wide eyes front. When was the last time he’d been given the chance? This felt strange, warming his heart toward Jack in a way that…kind of hurt.

“Thanks,” he managed at last, risking a glance at him. Jack offered a half-grin in return, one of those grins that created laughter lines around his eyes and eased the uncomfortable tightness in Marvin’s throat.

“I love all’ve you,” he stated earnestly. “Every one’ve you, ’kay? You’re all…fantastic. Even if it takes me a stupid long time t’see it.”

“…Thanks,” Marvin repeated, more softly this time. Jack’s smile widened and the arm around Marvin’s neck tightened briefly as he guided their heads together a second time, jostling Marvin’s mask back into place in the process and drawing a light laugh from him.

He had expected Jack to start chattering again once he felt that the moment passed, but he surprised him by allowing the moment become a minute and then two. Judging by the jaw-cracking yawn that filled the silence, it seemed he was passing out of the giddy high and into the slow, drowsy stage that followed.

“Sleep is for the weak, huh?” Marvin couldn’t resist teasing as Jack nestled further into the couch cushions, planting his head on his shoulder.

“Shuddup…s’all your fault anyway for makin’ me like this,” his creator mumbled, elbowing him clumsily in the side as his eyes flickered to a close.

As Jack’s slow, lingering breaths created warmth against his sleeve, Marvin let his eyes roam their surroundings, contemplating. He couldn’t help but wonder if Jack would remember anything once the magic wore off or if he would consider all of it a dream. Personally he was hoping for the latter so that he wouldn’t receive any more badgering or embarrassment for it, but he had to be realistic. It was more than likely that Chase would be unable to resist breaking his promise and put a “Jack Drunk on Magic” video on Bro Average tomorrow.

At least something good had come out of it…They’d bonded. Jack had reminded him that he cared and he’d  _meant_  it, regardless of the circumstances. Whether or not Jack remembered it later, Marvin most certainly would.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure why this story got posted twice; please leave your kudos and comments on the other one, so I have them all in one place!


End file.
